Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Tracey Weiler is no Elizabeth Witmer when it comes to local leadership

I wrote yesterday about Tim Hudak doing a double flip-flop on full-day kindergarten, and now let's take a look at the Tim Hudak candidate in Kitchener-Waterloo, Tracey Weiler and her position on full day kindergarten. While previous Progressive Conservative MPP Elizabeth Witmer stood up for Kitchener--Waterloo families, Tracey Weiler is more interested in taking orders from Hudak's Queen's Park backroom boys in Toronto and not listening to the thousands of families in Kitchener-Waterloo depending on full-day kindergarten.

On the important issue of FDK and local leadership, Weiler standing behind Hudak, who "condemned the program" is a sharp and disappointing turn away from previous Progressive Conservative MPP, Elizabeth Witmer, who in her many years of service to the community, was also a strong advocate for full day kindergarten, and showed local leadership by standing up to Hudak over full day kindergarten:

"For two years, Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak had railed against the ambitious new program being rolled out by Ontario’s Liberal government. So how did Hudak come to see the light?...

Elizabeth Witmer, the party’s tough-minded education critic, told Hudak he was on the wrong side of the issue... Witmer, who wears her social conscience on her sleeve, acknowledged privately to her education contacts that Tory focus groups showed overwhelming support [for FDK]."

Witmer's local leadership got Hudak to commit to full-day kindergarten in the PC platform, as shown below from page 21 of Changebook:

But when Hudak took his third different position and did a double flip-flop back to opposing full-day kindergarten, and putting at risk the education of thousands of Kitchener-Waterloo children, how did Tracey Weiler stand up for families?

If Elizabeth Witmer didn't believe in Tim Hudak's scheming cuts to education, why should Kitchener-Waterloo families? Tracey Weiler is showing how out of touch she is with Kitchener-Waterloo families by not continuing to support full day kindergarten.